IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orisre/v24y2013i4p1147-1161.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research Note ---Business Value of Information Technology: Testing the Interaction Effect of IT and R&D on Tobin's Q

Author

Listed:
  • Indranil Bardhan

    (Jindal School of Management, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080)

  • Viswanathan Krishnan

    (Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093)

  • Shu Lin

    (Craig School of Business, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, California 93740)

Abstract

The business case for investing in information technology (IT) has received increasing scrutiny in recent years. We propose that IT investments create additional business value through interactions with other business processes. In this paper, we formalize the interaction effect of IT by focusing on one core function, namely, research and development (R&D). We hypothesize that investments in IT can interact with and complement a firm's R&D investments, enhancing the firm's shareholder value creation potential. We test this by hypothesis by estimating the interaction impact of IT and R&D investments on Tobin's q, a forward-looking measure of firm performance using a recent multiyear, firm-level, archival data set. Our results suggest that the interaction effect of R&D and IT on Tobin's q is positive and significant after controlling for other firm- and industry-specific effects. Our findings provide rigorous empirical support for recent anecdotal evidence in the managerial literature with respect to the manner in which IT is enabling R&D-intensive innovation processes. Our analysis underscores the need for coordinated investments in IT and R&D, and permeating IT capabilities throughout other business processes such as R&D.

Suggested Citation

  • Indranil Bardhan & Viswanathan Krishnan & Shu Lin, 2013. "Research Note ---Business Value of Information Technology: Testing the Interaction Effect of IT and R&D on Tobin's Q," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 1147-1161, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:24:y:2013:i:4:p:1147-1161
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.2013.0481
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/isre.2013.0481
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/isre.2013.0481?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert E. Hall, 2001. "The Stock Market and Capital Accumulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1185-1202, December.
    2. Hansen, Lars Peter, 1982. "Large Sample Properties of Generalized Method of Moments Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(4), pages 1029-1054, July.
    3. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    4. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Productivity, R&D, and the Data Constraint," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 347-374, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Nicholas Bloom & Mark Schankerman & John Van Reenen, 2013. "Identifying Technology Spillovers and Product Market Rivalry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(4), pages 1347-1393, July.
    6. Jack E. Triplett, 1999. "The Solow productivity paradox: what do computers do to productivity?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 32(2), pages 309-334, April.
    7. Hall, Bronwyn H, 1993. "The Stock Market's Valuation of R&D Investment during the 1980's," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(2), pages 259-264, May.
    8. Stephen Bond & Anke Hoeffler, 2001. "GMM Estimation of Empirical Growth Models," Economics Series Working Papers 2001-W21, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    9. Anandhi S. Bharadwaj & Sundar G. Bharadwaj & Benn R. Konsynski, 1999. "Information Technology Effects on Firm Performance as Measured by Tobin's q," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(7), pages 1008-1024, July.
    10. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Mairesse, Jacques, 1995. "Exploring the relationship between R&D and productivity in French manufacturing firms," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 263-293, January.
    11. Anitesh Barua & Charles H. Kriebel & Tridas Mukhopadhyay, 1995. "Information Technologies and Business Value: An Analytic and Empirical Investigation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 3-23, March.
    12. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    13. Hüseyin Tanriverdi & Vahap Bülent Uysal, 2011. "Cross-Business Information Technology Integration and Acquirer Value Creation in Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 703-720, December.
    14. Brian L. Dos Santos & Zhiqiang (Eric) Zheng & Vijay S. Mookerjee & Hongyu Chen, 2012. "Are New IT-Enabled Investment Opportunities Diminishing for Firms?," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 287-305, June.
    15. Sinan Aral & Erik Brynjolfsson & Marshall Van Alstyne, 2012. "Information, Technology, and Information Worker Productivity," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(3-part-2), pages 849-867, September.
    16. Sarv Devaraj & Rajiv Kohli, 2003. "Performance Impacts of Information Technology: Is Actual Usage the Missing Link?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(3), pages 273-289, March.
    17. Paul S. Adler, 1995. "Interdepartmental Interdependence and Coordination: The Case of the Design/Manufacturing Interface," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(2), pages 147-167, April.
    18. Moshe Ben-Horim & Jeffrey L Callen, 1989. "THE COST OF CAPITAL, MACAULAY'S DURATION, AND TOBIN'S q," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 12(2), pages 143-156, June.
    19. Rajiv D. Banker & Indranil Bardhan & Ozer Asdemir, 2006. "Understanding the Impact of Collaboration Software on Product Design and Development," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(4), pages 352-373, December.
    20. Bronwyn H. Hall, 1999. "Innovation and Market Value," Finance 9902009, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Sanjeev Dewan & Chung-ki Min, 1997. "The Substitution of Information Technology for Other Factors of Production: A Firm Level Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(12), pages 1660-1675, December.
    22. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    23. Kunsoo Han & Robert J. Kauffman & Barrie R. Nault, 2011. "Research Note ---Returns to Information Technology Outsourcing," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 824-840, December.
    24. Timothy F. Bresnahan & Erik Brynjolfsson & Lorin M. Hitt, 2002. "Information Technology, Workplace Organization, and the Demand for Skilled Labor: Firm-Level Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 339-376.
    25. Rebecca Henderson & Iain Cockburn, 1996. "Scale, Scope, and Spillovers: The Determinants of Research Productivity in Drug Discovery," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 27(1), pages 32-59, Spring.
    26. Stephen Bond & Anke Hoeffler & Jonathan Temple, 2001. "GMM Estimation of Empirical Growth Models," Economics Papers 2001-W21, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    27. Hall, Bronwyn H & Griliches, Zvi & Hausman, Jerry A, 1986. "Patents and R and D: Is There a Lag?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 27(2), pages 265-283, June.
    28. Rajiv Kohli & Sarv Devaraj, 2003. "Measuring Information Technology Payoff: A Meta-Analysis of Structural Variables in Firm-Level Empirical Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 127-145, June.
    29. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Productivity and R&D at the Firm Level," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 100-133, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    30. James E. Foster & Miguel Székely, 2008. "Is Economic Growth Good For The Poor? Tracking Low Incomes Using General Means," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1143-1172, November.
    31. Zvi Griliches, 1984. "R&D, Patents, and Productivity," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gril84-1.
    32. Tat Chan & Jack A. Nickerson & Hideo Owan, 2007. "Strategic Management of R& D Pipelines with Cospecialized Investments and Technology Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(4), pages 667-682, April.
    33. Xiaohui Liu & Jiangyong Lu & Igor Filatotchev & Trevor Buck & Mike Wright, 2010. "Returnee entrepreneurs, knowledge spillovers and innovation in high-tech firms in emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(7), pages 1183-1197, September.
    34. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    35. Chris Forman & Nicolas van Zeebroeck, 2012. "From Wires to Partners: How the Internet Has Fostered R&D Collaborations Within Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(8), pages 1549-1568, August.
    36. Neeraj Mittal & Barrie R. Nault, 2009. "Research Note ---Investments in Information Technology: Indirect Effects and Information Technology Intensity," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 140-154, March.
    37. Prasanna Tambe & Lorin M. Hitt & Erik Brynjolfsson, 2012. "The Extroverted Firm: How External Information Practices Affect Innovation and Productivity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(5), pages 843-859, May.
    38. Sinan Aral & Peter Weill, 2007. "IT Assets, Organizational Capabilities, and Firm Performance: How Resource Allocations and Organizational Differences Explain Performance Variation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(5), pages 763-780, October.
    39. Erik Brynjolfsson & Lorin Hitt, 1996. "Paradox Lost? Firm-Level Evidence on the Returns to Information Systems Spending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(4), pages 541-558, April.
    40. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    41. Lang, Mark & Maffett, Mark, 2011. "Transparency and liquidity uncertainty in crisis periods," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 101-125.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stefan Schweikl & Robert Obermaier, 2020. "Lessons from three decades of IT productivity research: towards a better understanding of IT-induced productivity effects," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 461-507, November.
    2. Martin Andersson & Hans Lööf, 2009. "Learning‐by‐Exporting Revisited: The Role of Intensity and Persistence," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(4), pages 893-916, December.
    3. Peng Huang & Marco Ceccagnoli & Chris Forman & D.J. Wu, 2022. "IT Knowledge Spillovers, Absorptive Capacity, and Productivity: Evidence from Enterprise Software," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(3), pages 908-934, September.
    4. Capolupo, Rosa, 2009. "The New Growth Theories and Their Empirics after Twenty Years," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 3, pages 1-72.
    5. Zhai, Zhe & Ghosal, Vivek, 2022. "Internationalization of innovation and firm performance in the pharmaceutical industry," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 882-905.
    6. Martin Andersson & Hans Lööf, 2011. "Agglomeration and productivity: evidence from firm-level data," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 46(3), pages 601-620, June.
    7. Frank Nagle, 2019. "Open Source Software and Firm Productivity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(3), pages 1191-1215, March.
    8. Zheng, Xinye & Li, Fanghua & Song, Shunfeng & Yu, Yihua, 2013. "Central government's infrastructure investment across Chinese regions: A dynamic spatial panel data approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 264-276.
    9. Yerrabati, Sridevi, 2022. "Does vulnerable employment alleviate poverty in developing countries?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. Choi, Mincheol & Lee, Chang-Yang, 2021. "Technological diversification and R&D productivity: The moderating effects of knowledge spillovers and core-technology competence," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    11. Sinan Aral & Peter Weill, 2007. "IT Assets, Organizational Capabilities, and Firm Performance: How Resource Allocations and Organizational Differences Explain Performance Variation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(5), pages 763-780, October.
    12. Benzaim, Samia & Ftiti, Zied & Khedhaouria, Anis & Djermane, Rebai, 2023. "US foreign investments: Technology transfer, relative backwardness, and the productivity growth of host countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 275-295.
    13. Syed Manzur Quader, 2017. "Differential effect of liquidity constraints on firm growth," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(1), pages 20-29, January.
    14. Ejike Udeogu (a) , Uzochukwu Amakom (b) and Shampa Roy-Mukherjee (a), 2021. "Empirical Analysis of an Augmented Schumpeterian Endogenous Growth Model," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 46(1), pages 53-84, March.
    15. Ángeles Sánchez & Antonio L. Pérez-Corral, 2018. "Government Social Expenditure and Income Inequalities in the European Union," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 227(4), pages 133-156, December.
    16. Mohammed Shuaibu, 2015. "Does Trade Tariff Liberalisation Matter for Intra-ECOWAS Trade?," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 8(1), pages 83-112, August.
    17. Vogel, Johanna, 2013. "Regional Convergence in Europe: A Dynamic Heterogeneous Panel Approach," MPRA Paper 51794, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Yoruk, Esin & Radosevic, Slavo & Fischer, Bruno, 2023. "Technological profiles, upgrading and the dynamics of growth: Country-level patterns and trajectories across distinct stages of development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(8).
    19. Markus Eberhardt & Christian Helmers & Hubert Strauss, 2013. "Do Spillovers Matter When Estimating Private Returns to R&D?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(2), pages 436-448, May.
    20. Cavalieri, Marina & Ferrante, Livio, 2020. "Convergence, decentralization and spatial effects: An analysis of Italian regional health outcomes," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 164-173.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:24:y:2013:i:4:p:1147-1161. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.